Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PANGANIBAN, J.:
In our criminal justice system, the public prosecutor has the quasi-judicial discretion
to determine whether or not case should be filed in court. Courts must respect the
exercise of such discretion when the information filed against the accused valid on
its face, and no manifest error, grave abuse of discretion or prejudice can be
imputed to the public prosecutor.
The Case
Before us is a Petition for Review under Rule 45, seeking to reverse the June 28,
1996 Decision and the August 27, 1996 Resolution of the Court of Appeals 1 in CAGR SP No. 36018. 2 The assailed Decision dismissed the Petition for Certiorari filed
by the petitioners, which sought to annul and set aside two Orders of the Regional
Trial Court of Nabunturan, Davao: the June 28, 1994 Order dismissing the
Information for murder filed against Private Respondent Billy Cerbo and the August
18, 1994 Order denying petitioners' motion for reconsideration.
The assailed August 27, 1996 Court of Appeals (CA) Resolution likewise denied
petitioners' motion for reconsideration.
The Facts
The case below arose from the fatal shooting of Petitioner Dy's mother, Rosalinda
Dy, in which the primary suspect was Private Respondent Jonathan Cerbo, son of
Private Respondent Billy Cerbo.
The procedural and factual antecedents of the case were summarized in the
challenged Decision of the Court of Appeals as follows:
On August 30, 1993, Rosalinda Dy, according to the petition, was shot at pointblank
range by private respondent Jonathan Cerbo in the presence and at the office of his
father, private respondent Billy Cerbo at Purok 9, Poblacion, Nabunturan, Davao.
On September 2, 1993, eyewitness Elsa B. Gumban executed an affidavit positively
identifying private respondent Jonathan Cerbo as the assailant. (Annex C, Rollo, p.
34).
On September 20, 1993, private respondent Jonathan Cerbo executed a counteraffidavit interposing the defense that the shooting was accidental (Annex D: Rollo,
pp. 35-36).
On October 6, 1993, the 3rd Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Nabunturan-Mawab,
Davao, after a preliminary investigation, found "sufficient ground to engender a
well-founded belief" that the crime of murder has been committed by private
respondent Jonathan Cerbo and resolved to forward the entire records of the case to
the provincial prosecutor at Tagum, Davao (Annex E, Rollo, pp. 37-38).
After [an] information for murder was filed against Jonathan Cerbo, petitioner Alynn
Plezette Dy, daughter of the victim Rosalinda Dy, executed an affidavit-complaint
charging private respondent Billy Cerbo of conspiracy in the killing (Annex F, Rollo,
p. 39), supported by a supplemental affidavit of Elsa B. Gumban, alleging "in
addition" to her previous statement that:
3. In addition to my said sworn statement, I voluntarily and freely aver as follows:
a) I vividly recall that while my mistress Rosalinda Go and I were in the office of Billy
Cerbo at about 11:45 a.m. on August 30, 1993, Mr. Cerbo personally instructed me
to fetch the food from the kitchen [and to bring it] to the office instead of the dining
room.
b) While bringing the food, Mr. Cerbo again instructed me to place the food [o]n a
corner table and commanded me to sit behind the entrance door and at the same
time Mr. Cerbo positioned Rosalinda [on] a chair facing the entrance door for an
easy target.
c) Immediately after Rosalinda was shot, Mr. Billy Cerbo called his son Jonathan who
was running, but did not and ha[s] never bothered to bring Rosalinda to a hospital
or even apply first aid.
d) To my surprise, Mr. Billy Cerbo, instead of bringing Rosalinda to the hospital,
brought her to the funeral parlor and immediately ordered her to be embalmed
without even informing her children or any of her immediate relatives xxx.' Annex
G. Rollo, p. 40.)
Private respondent Billy Cerbo submitted a counter-affidavit denying the allegations
of both petitioner Alynn Plezette Dy and Elsa B. Gumban (Annex H, Rollo, pp. 4142).
On or about April 8, 1994, Prosecutor Protacio Lumangtad filed a "Motion for leave
of court to reinvestigate the case" (Annex I, Rollo, pp. 43-44) which was granted by
the respondent judge in an order dated April 28, 1994 (Annex J, Rollo, p. 45).
In his resolution dated May 5, 1994, Prosecutor Lumangtad recommended the filing
of
an
amended
information
including
Billy
Cerbo
". . . as one of the accused in the murder case . . ." (Annex K: Rollo, pp. 46-49).
Accordingly, the prosecution filed an amended information including Billy Cerbo in
the murder case. A warrant for his arrest was later issued on May 27, 1994 (Rollo, p.
27).
Private respondent Billy Cerbo then filed a motion to quash warrant of arrest
arguing that the same was issued without probable cause (Rollo, p. 27).
On June 28, 1994, respondent Judge issued the first assailed order dismissing the
case against Billy Cerbo and recalling the warrant for his arrest[;] the dispositive
portion of [the order] reads:
IN THE LIGHT OF ALL THE FOREGOING, [an] order is hereby issued DISMISSING the
case as against Billy Cerbo only.
Let, therefore, the warrant of arrest, dated May 27, 1994, be RECALLED.
The prosecution is hereby ordered to withdraw its Amended Information and file a
new one charging Jonathan Cerbo only.
SO ORDERED. (Rollo, pp. 29-30).
Private Prosecutor Romeo Tagra filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied
by the respondent judge in his second assailed order dated August 18, 1994 (Annex
B, Rollo, pp. 31-33). 3
The Ruling of the Court of Appeals
In its 10-page Decision, the Court of Appeals debunked petitioners' assertion that
the trial judge committed a grave abuse of discretion in recalling the warrant of
arrest and subsequently dismissing the case against Billy Cerbo. Citing
jurisprudence, 4 the appellate court held as follows:
The ruling is explicit. If upon the filing of the information in court, the trial judge,
after reviewing the information and the documents attached thereto, finds that no
probable cause exists, must either call for the complainant and the witnesses or
simply dismiss the case.
Petitioners question the applicability of the doctrine laid down in the
above[-]mentioned case, alleging that the facts therein are different from the
instant case. We rule that the disparity of facts does not prevent the application of
the principle.
We have gone over the supplemental affidavit of Elsa B. Gumban and taking into
account the additional facts and circumstances alleged therein, we cannot say that
respondent judge gravely abused his discretion in dismissing the case as against
private respondent Billy Cerbo for lack of probable cause.
xxx xxx xxx
The prosecution, if it really believed that Billy Cerbo is probably guilty by
conspiracy, should have presented additional evidence sufficiently and credibly
demonstrating the existence of probable cause.
xxx xxx xxx
In sum, the Court of Appeals held that Judge Eugenio Valles did not commit grave
abuse of discretion in recalling the warrant of arrest issued against Private
Respondent Billy Cerbo and subsequently dismissing the Information for murder
filed against the private respondent, because the evidence presented thus far did
not substantiate such charge.
Hence, this petition. 6
The Assigned Errors
Petitioner Dy avers:
1) The Court of Appeals gravely erred in holding that the Regional Trial Court Judge
had the authority to reverse [the public prosecutor's] finding of probable cause to
prosecute accused . . . and thus dismiss the case filed by the latter on the basis of a
motion to quash warrant of arrest.
2) The Court of Appeals gravely erred in fully and unqualifiedly applying the case of
Allado, et. al. vs. PACC, et. al. G.R. No. 113630, [to] the case at bench despite [the]
clear difference in their respective factual backdrop[s] and the contrary earlier
jurisprudence on the matter. 7
On the other hand, the solicitor general posits this sole issue:
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in finding that no probable cause exists to merit
the filing of charges against private respondent Billy Cerbo. 8
Essentially, the petitioners are questioning the propriety of the trial court's
dismissal, for want of evidence, of the Information for murder against Private
Respondent Billy Cerbo.
In resolving this petition, the discussion of the Court will revolve around the
points: first, the determination of probable cause as an executive and judicial
function and, second, the applicability of Allado and Salonga to the case at bar.
The Court's Ruling
The petition is meritorious. The trial court erred in dismissing the information filed
against the private respondent. Consequently the Court of Appeals was likewise in
error when it upheld such ruling.
Executive Determination
of Probable Cause
The determination of probable cause during a preliminary investigation is a function
that belongs to the public prosecutor. It is an executive function, 9 the correctness of
the exercise of which is matter that the trial court itself does not and may not be
compelled to pass upon. The Separate (Concurring) Opinion of former Chief Justice
Andres R. Narvasa in Roberts v. Court of Appeals 10 succinctly elucidates such point
in this wise:
xxx xxx xxx
In this special civil action, this Court is being asked to assume the function of a
public prosecutor. It is being asked to determine whether probable cause exists as
regards petitioners. More concretely, the Court is being asked to examine and
assess such evidence as has thus far been submitted by the parties and, on the
basis thereof, make a conclusion as to whether or not it suffices "to engender a well
founded belief that a crime has been committed and that the respondent is
probably guilty thereof and should be held for trial."
It is a function that this Court should not be called upon to perform. It is a function
that properly pertains to the public prosecutor, one that, as far as crimes cognizable
by a Regional Trial Court are concerned, and notwithstanding that it involves an
adjudicative process of a sort, exclusively pertains, by law, to said executive officer,
the public prosecutor. It is moreover a function that in the established scheme of
things, is supposed to be performed at the very genesis of, indeed, prefatorily to,
the formal commencement of a criminal action. The proceedings before a public
prosecutor, it may well be stressed, are essentially preliminary, prefatory and
cannot lead to a final, definite and authoritative adjudgment of the guilt or
innocence of the persons charged with a felony or crime.
Whether or not that function has been correctly discharged by the public prosecutor
i.e., whether or not he has made a correct ascertainment of the existence of
probable cause in a case, is a matter that the trial court itself does not and may not
be compelled to pass upon. It is not for instance permitted for an accused, upon the
filing of the information against him by the public prosecutor, to pre-empt trial by
filing a motion with the Trial Court praying for the quash or dismissal of the
indictment on the ground that the evidence upon which the same is based is
inadequate. Nor is it permitted, on the antipodal theory that the evidence is in truth
inadequate, for the complaining party to present a petition before the Court praying
guilty thereof, and should be held for trial." 15 Evidentiary matters must be
presented and heard during the trial. 16 Therefore, if the information is valid on its
face, and there is no showing of manifest error, grave abuse of discretion and
prejudice on the part of the public prosecutor , the trial court should respect such
determination.
Inapplicabilty of Allado
and Salonga
The Court of Appeals anchored its ruling on the pronouncement made in Allado v.
Diokno:" . . . [I]f, upon the filing of the information in court, the trial judge, after
reviewing the information and the documents attached thereto, must either call for
the complainant and the witnesses themselves or simply dismiss the case. There is
no reason to hold the accused for trial and further expose him to an open and public
accusation of the crime when no probable cause exists." 17
In Allado, Petitioners Diosdado Jose Allado and Roberto I. Mendoza, practicing
lawyers, were accused by the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC) of
kidnapping with murder and ordered by Judge Roberto C. Diokno to be arrested
without bail. The petitioners questioned the issuance of the warrants for their arrest
contending that the respondent judge acted with grave abuse of discretion and in
excess of his jurisdiction in holding that there was probable cause against them.
They contended that the trial court relied merely on the resolution of the
investigating panel and its certification that probable cause existed, without
personally determining the admissibility and sufficiency of the evidence for such
finding and without stating the basis thereof. They maintained that the records of
the preliminary investigation, which was the sole basis of the judge's ruling, failed to
establish probable cause against them that would justify the issuance of warrants
for their arrest.
The Court declared that Judge Diokno has indeed committed grave abuse of
discretion in issuing the arrest warrants. Contrary to the constitutional mandate and
established jurisprudence, he merely relied on the certification of the prosecutors as
to the existence of the probable cause, instead of personally examining the
evidence, the complainant and his witness." For otherwise," the Court said "he
would have found out that the evidence thus far presented was utterly insufficient
to warrant the arrest of the petitioners" 18
In categorically stating that the evidence so far presented did not meet the
standard of probable cause and subsequently granting the petition, the Court noted
the following circumstances: first, the corpus delicti was not established, and there
was serious doubt as to the alleged victim's death: second, the extra judicial
statement of the principal witness, who had priorly confessed his participation in the
crime, was full of material inconsistencies; and third, the PACC operatives who
investigated the case never implicated the petitioners.
Citing Salonga v. Cruz-Pao, the Court of Appeals pointed out that when there was
no prima facie case against a person sought to be charged with a crime, "the judge
or fiscal, therefore, should not go on with the prosecution in the hope that some
credible evidence might later turn out during trial, for this would be flagrant
violation of a basic right which the courts are created to uphold." 19
In the aforecited case, Petitioner Jovito R. Salonga sought to bar the filing of an
Information for violation of the revised Anti-Subversion Act, which Judge Ernani
Cruz-Pano had ordered to be filed against him. In sustaining the petitioner, the
Court held that the evidence upon which the Information was based was not
sufficient to charge him for a violation of the Revised Subversion Act.
In all, the Court decreed in both cases that there was no basis in law and in fact for
the judicial and executive determination at probable cause. The Court also held that
the government, while vested with the right and the duty to protect itself and its
people against transgressors of the law, must perform the same in a manner that
would not infringe the perceived violators' rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.
However, the present case is not on all fours with Allado and Salonga. First, Elsa
Gumban, the principal eyewitness to the killing of Rosalinda Dy, was not a
participation or conspirator in the commission of the said crime. In Allado and
Salonga, however, the main witnesses were the confessed perpetrators of the
crimes, whose testimonies the court deemed 'tainted'. 20 Second, in the case at bar,
the private respondent was accorded due process, and no precipitate haste or bias
during the investigation of the case can be imputed to the public prosecutor. On the
other hand, the Court noted in Allado the "undue haste in the filing of the
Information and in the inordinate interest of the government" in pursuing the
case; 21 and in Salonga, " . . . the failure of the prosecution to show that the
petitioner was probably guilty of conspiring to commit the crime, the initial
disregard of petitioner's constitutioner rights [and] the massive and damaging
publicity against him." 22 In other words, while the respective sets of evidence
before the prosecutors in the Allado and Salonga were "utterly insufficient" to
support a finding of probable cause, the same cannot be said of the present case.
We stress that Allado and Salonga constitute exceptions to the general rule and
may be invoked only if similar circumstances are clearly shown to exist. But as the
foregoing comparisons show, such similarities are absent in the instant case. Hence,
the rulings in the two aforementioned cases cannot apply to it.
Motion Without Requisite Notice
One more thing, Petitioners aver that Private Respondent Cerbo did not give them a
copy of the Motion to Quash the Warrant of Arrest, which had been issued against
him, or a notice of the scheduled hearing. Thus, they contend, Judge Valles should
not have entertained such motion.
It is settled that every written motion in a trial court must be set for hearing by the
applicant and served with the notice of hearing thereof, in such a manner as to
ensure its receipt by the other party. The provisions on this matter in Section 4 and
5, Rule 15 of the Rules of the Court, 23 are categorical and mandatory
character. 24 Under Section 6 of the said rule, no motion shall be acted upon by the
court without proof of service thereof. The rationale for this rule is simple: unless
the movants set the time and the place of hearing, the court will be unable to
determine whether the adverse parties agree or object to the motions, since the
rules themselves do not fix any period within which they may file their replies or
oppositions. 25
The motion to quash the warrant of arrest in the present case being pro forma,
inasmuch as the requisite copy and notice were not duly served upon the adverse
party, the trial court had no authority to act on it.
Epilogue
In granting this petition, we are not prejudging the criminal case or the guilt or
innocence of Private Respondent Billy Cerbo. We simply saying that, as a general
rule, if the information is valid on its face and there is no showing of manifest error,
grave abuse of discretion or prejudice on the part of the public prosecutor, courts
should not dismiss it for 'want of evidence,' because evidentiary matters should be
presented and heard during the trial. The functions and duties of both the trial court
and the public prosecutor in "the proper scheme of things" in our criminal justice
system should be clearly understood.
The rights of the people from what could sometimes be an ''oppressive" exercise of
government prosecutorial powers do need to be protected when circumstances so
require. But just as we recognize this need, we also acknowledge that the State
must likewise be accorded due process. Thus, when there is no showing of nefarious
irregularity or manifest error in the performance of a public prosecutor's duties,
courts ought to refrain from interfering with such lawfully and judicially mandated
duties.
In any case, if there was palpable error or grave abuse of discretion in the public
prosecutor's finding of probable cause, the accused can appeal such finding to the
justice secretary 26 and move for the deferment or suspension of the proceeding
until such appeal is resolved.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The assailed Decision of the Court of Appeals
is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The case is REMANDED to the Regional Trial
Court of Nabunturan, Davao, which is ordered to reinstate the amended information
against Private Respondent Billy Cerbo and to proceed with judicious speed in
hearing the case. No. costs.1wphi1.nt